The evidence has
faded away. No one entering the Sunday gathering, nor arriving for any weekday
activity even notices it any longer; but at the time, they left their mark.
It was raining
hard but Jerry and I were on a mission, so we ignored the weather. With rags in
hand and a powerful chemical, we scrubbed away the message spray painted on the
front of the church building. It took effort and time, but we felt that we had
done the best we could do in light of the circumstances. Graffiti was erased. Some
of our fellow churches were not so blessed. The same message painted on brick
walls requires far more effort if it is to be permanently removed.
Spray-painting a message on a church entrance is not appropriate; and
rightfully, even the non-religious of our city would display a bit of
indignation. Who would assault a church building and consider it acceptable to
display such crude artistic effort?
This blue metal
building is not the Church. It is, however, a facility resource where the
Church regularly gathers. The Lord of the Church is far more concerned about
what marks the gathered Church than
He is about what graffiti message marks its housing.
So while we take immediate and energetic action when the spray paint declares
its message, we tend to give little attention when its members "mark"
the true Church.
"Do you not
know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone
destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you
are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-7) In seeing the Church, the Apostle
was indignant, but those who were the Church were indifferent. "You are
arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Your boasting is not good."
If the wall of our
church is marked by graffiti, we have proven a readiness to jump into action. But
if the Church is marked by an abuse of grace, will we rise up to meet the
challenge? Do we place more value on a blue metal wall than we place upon the
blood-bought temple of Christ?
"Let him
who has done this be removed from among you…Purge the evil person from among
you." 1 Corinthians 5:2,13
The evidence has
faded away. No one entering the Sunday gathering, nor arriving for any weekday
activity even notices it any longer; but at the time, they left their mark.
See
you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom
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